Premiere Stages at Kean University in Union kicks off season with 'Ontario Was Here'

Playwright Darren Canady currently teaches at the University of Kansas.

Actor Warner Miller in Premiere Stages' production of Tammy Ryan's ‘Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods,’ winner of the 2012 Primus Prize.

Premiere Stages will open its ninth season as the professional theatre company in residence at Kean University with a free staged reading of Darren Canady`s powerful new play “Ontario Was Here.” Selected from more than 400 submissions, “Ontario Was Here” is the first of two scripts scheduled for expanded development as part of the 2013 Premiere Stages Play Festival.

The Festival is an annual competition for unproduced scripts by playwrights with ties to the greater metropolitan area (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut), and perfectly embodies the theater’s passionate and longstanding commitment to supporting emerging artists through the development and production of new plays.

In Canady’s scintillating new work, two bright Kansas City social workers, Nathan and Penni, give their all for the children they serve, determined to make a difference. But when a case blurs the lines between romance, work, and friendship, their dreams of changing the world are put to the test. “What drew us to the script is the heartfelt way in which it explores the craft of social work, and the contradictory challenges case workers often face,” stated Clare Drobot, Premiere`s oproducing associate and resident dramaturg. “Nathan and Penni are incredibly richly drawn characters; you can’t help but be moved by their stories.”

Directed by Jade King Carroll, the reading will feature Joniece Abbott-Pratt as Penni and Warner Miller as Nathan. Abbott-Pratt and Miller previously appeared together in Canady`s play “False Creeds” at the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta, where it won the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition.

Each reading concludes with a post-show discussion between the playwright and audience; patrons will also be afforded the opportunity to provide written evaluations. “We are excited to have the opportunity to share Darren`s work with our audience and solicit feedback,” said Drobot. “It`s such a vital step in the development process, and an excellent launching point to our 2013 season.”

A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, and the Juilliard School, Canady currently teaches playwriting at the University of Kansas. His play Brothers of the Dust was recently produced by the acclaimed Congo Square Theatre in Chicago (Black Excellence Award, Black Theatre Alliance Award, ATCA Osborn Award), and has received recognition in the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Competition, the James W. Rodgers Playwriting Competition, and was awarded the Theodore Ward Prize for African-American Playwriting.

Premiere`s patrons will recognize actor Warner Miller from Premiere Stages’ popular productions of "Follow Me to Nellie’s” and “Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods.” Actress Joniece Abbott-Pratt recently appeared in the World Premiere of award-winning playwright Chisa Hutchinson’s “Alondra Was Here” at The Wild Project in New York, also directed by Jade King Carroll, who is a former recipient of the TCG New Generations Future Leader Award, as well as the Paul Green Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Professional from the National Theatre Conference and The Estate of August Wilson.

“Ontario Was Here” runs Friday, June 21 at 7 p.m., Saturday, June 22 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, June 23 at 3 p.m., in the Murphy Dunn Theatre, located in Kean University’s Vaughn Eames Building, 1000 Morris Ave., Union. Admission and parking are free.

Reservations are strongly recommended, as seating is limited. Call 908-737-4092 to reserve, or visit kean.edu/premierestages for more information.

Premiere Stages is made possible in part through funding from The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Shubert Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The New Jersey Historical Commission, The Provident Bank Foundation, Hudson City Savings Bank Foundation, The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and through the generous support of individual patrons. Discover Jersey Arts is our marketing partner.

Visit JerseyArts.com for more information about other arts programming happening around the Garden State.

Call 908-737-4092 for a list of sign-interpreted, audio-described or open-captioned performances. Assistive listening devices and large print programs are available at all times. Publications are available in alternate formats with advanced notice.